Saturday observations as KU prepares for VCU

Some final quick quotes from KU coach Bill Self, as the media shuttle is about to shut down service ...

On VCU's style: "They play, I don't want to say a unique style, but aggressive style. They're very scrappy. They'll press. They'll play straight man. They'll play zone. They've been in attack mode for their first four games of the NCAA Tournament and been very successful."

On the high stakes of the Elite Eight game: "The whole makeup of the marketing in the tournament is, 'Road to the Final Four.' And so even though it doesn't crown a champion, it does — in people's minds, the way it's set up — that is the goal to get there. ... (The Elite Eight) is a game with pressure and all those things. No reason to run from it. It definitely exists. The big key is playing loose and that kind of stuff."

On leadership this year versus last year: "Last year I think that — this isn't negative toward Sherron (Collins) — everything ran through one guy. Looking back now, I like it the way it is now. I like it being spread out. I like it being balanced. I like guys holding each other accountable in a way — like Sherron tried to hold everybody accountable. But maybe there wasn't anybody to hold him as accountable as much. Not that he needed it totally, but everybody needs it from time to time.

"And I really like how these guys do it with each other. They coach each other in practice. They get on each other and they applaud each other and they applaud each other and they jack around and have fun off the court. But I think it's more of a collection of — and maybe it's because the twins are so unselfish on the court — but it's more of a collection of we than me. And last year Sherron was the guy. I made him out to be that way. And I think this is much more effective this year."

On Brady Morningstar: "If we didn't have Brady, we wouldn't be here, bottom line. He's been our best perimeter defender for three years and out best post feeder for all three years and very, very smart."

On Morningstar red-shirting in 2008: "His parents, that was part of the deal when we recruited him, they wanted us to redshirt him. I think their goals was to have him be the oldest student in college athletics."

Thanks for checking out the blog today, and be sure to check back Sunday for extended coverage of KU's Elite Eight game against VCU.

5:30 p.m. update: By Jesse Newell

Three videos from Mike Yoder, including a must-see one where Marcus Morris talks about how he doesn't try to intimidate opposing players (though he doesn't get upset if he has the reputation of being an intimidating player).

Marcus, on VCU's players saying they won't let KU trash talk them: "That's fine. I don't trash talk. I don't know why people say I trash talk. I just say words. You've gotta YouTube guys like Kevin Garnett. That's trash talking. What he does and what Kobe (Bryant) does and what Carmelo (Anthony) and those guys do is trash talking. We just say some things that's all just in the emotion of the game. It's definitely not trash talking."

Marcus, on being safe if he ever visits Richmond, Va., if KU knocks out both Richmond and VCU: "I don't even know where Richmond is. I'll probably never go there anyways. I guess in case I do I'll have a little entourage with me to make sure everything is cool. Those guys are competitors. They wouldn't do anything, but the fans might. I saw a couple YouTube clips and their fans are a little crazy. We might have to watch our backs."

Markieff, on VCU's players saying they won't let KU bully them: "For them to say that means they already have us on their minds about doing it. That doesn't mean anything to us. We don't want to try to bully anybody, but that's good that they think that's what we're going to do."

• Thomas Robinson on VCU: "They have definitely proved themselves as a quality team. They're a good team and they belong in the tournament. We have to play them tomorrow, so I don't want to do too much complimenting on them."

• Robinson, on KU's fan support: “It is amazing and beyond words on how good our fans are. I’ve been saying that all year. We have the best fan base in the country.”

• Josh Selby, on his team giving him a hard time about his botched play in the second half Friday night: "Coach came in and teased me. The players teased me. It was all in fun. The ball got stuck behind my back. I was trying to whip it around, but it wouldn’t go.”

• Brady Morningstar, on being close to the Final Four: "It's right there in front of you. It's like putting a piece of steak on a plate in front of a dog who's chained up. He's right there, but he's chained up. Hopefully, the next day you can let him loose."

• Tyshawn Taylor, on being the 'bad guys' against the Cinderella VCU: "In the tournament, I guess everybody roots for the Cinderella team, so I'm sure we're going to have a lot of people rooting against us, but it's been that way before, too. We're just going to come out and play. We know what we've got to do to win."

4:45 p.m. update: By Jesse Newell

Four more photos from Nick ...

Kansas guards Tyshawn Taylor and Tyrel Reed wait to be escorted to press conferences on Saturday, March 26, 2011 at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
by Nick Krug

Kansas guard Elijah Johnson listens to his headphones as he and the team leave the Alamodome following a round of interviews and press conferences on Saturday, March 26, 2011 at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
by Nick Krug

Kansas forward Thomas Robinson talks with media members in the team locker room on Saturday, March 26, 2011 at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
by Nick Krug

Kansas head coach Bill Self is seen on the video monitors of production equipment during a press conference on Saturday, March 26, 2011 at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
by Nick Krug

I'll add some quotes from KU coaches and players here in a few minutes.

3:09 p.m. update: By Jesse Newell

A couple photos from Nick Krug ...

Virginia Commonwealth forward Bradford Burgess answers a question during a press conference on Saturday, March 26, 2011 at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
by Nick Krug

Virginia Commonwealth head coach Shaka Smart talks with media members during a press conference on Saturday, March 26, 2011 at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
by Nick Krug

2:50 p.m. update: By Jesse Newell

Cliff's Notes version of VCU coach Shaka Smart's comments at the podium.

• Our guys never give up. We rarely play perfect basketball, but basketball is a game of mistakes. Even Kansas at 35-2 is going to make mistakes. The game is about what you do next.

• Smart says his name is the best thing that his dad ever did for him, as he was raised primarily by his mother. "Shaka" is an African name from a king who united hundred of thousands of people. There was a movie made about that Shaka.

• Smart told CBS's Gregg Doyle that he looked a lot younger looking in person. "So do you," Doyle replied. Smart said he likes this experience because he's met a lot of people he didn't know before.

• Smart became a coach because he wanted to be involved in basketball as long as he could. When he first started coaching, he noticed it wasn't nearly as fun as being a player. But he still wanted to be involved in the game. He coached his younger brother in kids' leagues and started to like it. He gave it a shot and loved it.

• Concerns send you home at this point. Excuses send you home. The teams that advance in the NCAA Tournament don't look at the glass half-empty. They don't look at the roadblocks. We've probably got the best team left in this tournament (KU) in our game Sunday.

• Smart was accepted to Harvard, Yale and Brown. It was a little intimidating when he visited there. He went to Kenyon College (in Gambier, Ohio) instead because of the relationship with the basketball coach there.

• Smart didn't have a curfew and didn't have to make his bed, but if he came home with a bad grade, he wasn't able to play basketball. Sometimes, a bad grade was a B. He didn't have a choice but to focus on his education. In college, he wanted to do well to make him mom happy. He found classes there that he loved, like social sciences and English and literature. Because of that, in college, he didn't need the drive that his mom instilled in him for education at a young age.

• We're 40 minutes away from the Final Four, and Kansas is who we play. We're not any different than anyone else. We're playing a phenomenal basketball team, but our guys believe we can win. I know we can win.

• Smart said his team didn't have a watch party for the NCAA Tournament because he didn't know if his team would get in. He didn't want his team's season to be defined by that night.

• Smart uses a quote list as inspiration for his players to try to inspire them.

• VCU felt like it was robbed to not get into the NIT last year. It played in the CBI instead. For the coaching staff, it was great preparation for a tournament setting.

• VCU is used to the short turnaround. After playing three games in five days last week, two games in three days this week is not an issue. Playing a great team like KU might be an issue.

• Recruits have called Smart back quicker after VCU's run in this tournament. The way to really make a splash recruiting-wise, though, is to sustain success.

• When Smart heard about Thomas Robinson's story, his heart went out to him. Robinson already has a lot on his plate as a student-athlete. It says a lot about Robinson's fortitude and mental toughness that he was able to come back in such a short time span. Smart hadn't seen Robinson since AAU ball, but he says Robinson's body is unbelievable. KU's strength coach should get a raise, because Robinson looks terrific, as do a lot of guys. If you look at his production in his minutes played, he's extremely productive.

• Smart's confidence is sky-high in his team. He knows what his team can do.

• For the Florida State game, VCU put together a tape of all the pundits' picks for the Florida State game. There's so many guys that make picks on TV, that the video is impressive. Jay Bilas (who Smart says jokingly is VCU's favorite) went on about Florida State's length bothering VCU.

• Smart plans on doing more of that type of motivation for his team before the KU game. One of his assistants already pointed out that according to KenPom, KU has a 44-percent chance of winning the title, while VCU has a 0.9-percent chance of winning the title. Smart says it's kind of like the movie, "Dumb and Dumber." "So you're saying we have a chance." We're not going to stop until that chance is zero.

• Smart set a calendar month of February on fire in practice on March 1. It symbolized that that month was over. His players watched it burn. Luckily nothing burned down.

• VCU guard Joey Rodriguez is stat-conscious. That's a good thing when you're looking at assists. He's the toughest player that Smart has been around.

• Everything in coaching is stolen. Smart says probably 0.01 percent of what he does is original ideas.

• If VCU had a month to prepare for KU, the challenges wouldn't change. It's not the short notice, it's finding ways to slow down their personnel and their great offensive system. Self does a good job of making you pay if you try to defend them certain ways. After watching the Richmond game, Smart saw that KU was the aggressor against Richmond. Smart votes in the coaches poll, and there were several times he voted for KU as the No. 1 team in the country.

• Smart's grandfather is in Hospice care. He's just trying to enjoy his final days in Chicago. Smart's grandfather was the best male influence growing up. He used to cut out every article that had to do with basketball and mailed them to Smart. Smart said he's going to miss those clippings. His grandfather started with nothing and made a great life for his family.

Also, here are some other quotes from VCU guard Joey Rodriguez at the podium.

• On Kansas: "They're impressive. ... They move the ball really well. It's going to be a great challenge, but we're not going to back down."

• On not worrying about ESPN's criticism: "It's not like we're in the game thinking about Jay Bilas and Dick Vitale and what they had to say."

• On play-in game: "I actually think the extra game kind of helped us. ... A lot of guys had never played in the NCAA Tournament. I think getting that first game under our belts and showing that we could play helped our guys."

1:48 p.m. update: By Jesse Newell

Welcome to the Alamodome in San Antonio, site of the Kansas men’s basketball team’s Elite Eight game Friday against VCU.

Today is the pregame media session for the game, meaning both teams are here to talk to reporters. KU’s players and coaches will talk to media members from 2:55 to 3:55 p.m., while VCU will talk from 1:55 to 2:55.

We’ll have updates throughout the day here, but I wanted to start with a video that surfaced from YouTube today showing a different angle of the KU and Richmond hallway scuffle before Friday's game.

To me, it doesn't look as bad as the CBS video, but I'll let you decide for yourself.

Comments

First of all.... There needs to be a little more planning when there is only one thin tunnel.

Secondly, KU obviously did the best they could to get around the huddle which took up the entire hallway.

Third, as was written by a KU fan who saw it up close last night, the first shove absolutely was not from a Jayhawk.

Rewind & watch again. It was from a Spider. Still respect them. Just an unfortunate situation with a thin tunnel. Apparently the Spider thought we should stand there & watch them dance.

Anyone who wants to write a Godfather theme regarding the Jayhawks, fine, go ahead & do it. Pat Forde tried to this morning. A decent article on some level. But now this video comes out & articles like his become a little less "wow look at those bad Jayhawks who attack people in the hallways"....

But this video confirms it.

We were simply trying to get to the court.

Very bad mistake by the Richmond team to choose this spot for their celebaration.

I'm usually not a Pat Forde fan, but I really didn't see anything wrong with what Pat Forde said in the blog. He was basically saying that KU has "Swagger" and plays better when they are running their mouths.

I'll be honest, I don't mind the "Woofing" as long as you can back it up. I think Kansas teams in the past have been "Too Soft" so let them talk and woof their way to a Final 4. It seems to be working.

Oh, and that angle of the video showed the Richmond player shoving first so whatever. I like the fan who said, "T them up". Now that's funny!

there was nothing backhanded about his comments; they were straightforward and in my opinion, completely correct. we've played this tournament and most of the season with a cocky edge and some questionable sportsmanship. im not supporting it or condemning it, but it's the reality of this team

the twins have thrown several elbows and bumps besides that, and I don't count the one on pullen at all. Markieff had an intentional against Missouri. My least favorite by far was one that I believe Marcus had during the A&M game; play was dead and an A&M player was stumbling and Morris straight up elbowed him in the face, but no one else including the officials caught it. It was shameful, especially against a friendly team coached by a former player. I'm not saying they extremely dirty, but I'm a student so I've seen the team in class, on campus, and in person the last two years and several of them don't care much about being nice to opposition or people in general. Just my view; I still support the team with undying passion.

The intentional foul at MIZ-EWW was only because the tigger had a turnover and was going to get to the basket. Marcus literally barely touched his jersey. It was just a break away-that's why it was an intentional foul. Nothing dirty about it and nothing many other players/teams would not have done in the same circumstance.

As for Pullen, I believed he as much asked for it by trying to run between Morris and the other K-State player in the lane. Pullen lowered his head and ran through them.

Not sure why the video is labeled as "Kansas-Richmond Pregame Fight" - what is the definition of fight? This video seems consistent with what the players were saying - Richmond players blocking the tunnel and KU players trying to enter around/through them, with a little skirmish ensuing.

Jesse, are you aware of any rules or protocol for how a team should enter from the tunnel? Was Richmond's pregame warm-up in the tunnel pretty standard, and should the Jayhawks have waited for them to finish?

I think I read that teams that wanted to do that kind of huddle had to do it in the entry area instead of blocking the tunnel. I thought it was kind of a power thing--blocking the tunnel, refusing to give way to KU, making them wait. KU opted not to wait, and I believe they would have just gone on without any trouble until Richmond got all puffed up and started shoving, etc.

Jesse,
I understood that the lower ranked team leaves the dressing room and enters the court first, after being given the green light by the organizers. After a couple of minutes; the higher ranked team follows the same procedure. Unfortunately, Richmond chose to do its dance in the tunnel and took a long time, blocking the tunnel in the process and creating a confrontation with the KU team that was simply trying to get to the court. It strikes me as highly disrespectful to expect the KU players to stand in the hallway while they finish their dance; I, for one, am glad that the KU team went around them. In any case, the new video seems to indicate that it was the Richmond players that started the pushing and shoving; to me, the whole incident appears to have been staged by Richmond to try to get in the heads of the KU players.

On a separate note, your video displays have only a volume on-off control and sometimes they are very hard to hear. Can you put the good word with you tech people so the video displays have a true adjustable volume controls.

You are doing a great job keeping Jayhawk fans informed. Your hard work is greatly appreciated...and truly enjoyed. Keep up the good work. ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK KU!!!

Nothing to see here. As big as that arena is, why run both teams down the same hallway? Can't the NCAA control the timing of the teams use of the hallway. They want to control everything else? Rock Chalk beat VCU

Someone has to be the Alpha(s). Can't let Richmond hold up the Jayhawks getting to the floor and getting their pregame on. State of mind is everything at this point of the season. The Jayhawks have been working hard on getting their heads right for a Final Four run after what happened last year. For the Jayhawks to just stand there and wait like little pansies for Richmond to hold them up and make them submissive is not going to happen.
Remember, the Hawks just came from their locker room all pumped up and ran into that. I would expect no less of them. For those of you that have a problem with it, grow a set.

Spiders trying to be tough. Watch the tip off of the game and see the shiver that Smith gives Brady Morningstar. No foul called even though Brady flew backwards. I consider the video as A Dance of Doom for the Spiders...Its one to talk the talk, the other to walk the walk...I am confident in KU and their attitude, so.bring on VCU....

From my experiences, NBAdraft.net is a pretty shoddy organization that makes its own news at times. Also, they often won't update player profiles for sometimes years at a time. They're either understaffed or very amateurish. Either way, I wouldn't bank on anything they say. Not that I know anything either, though.

Hmm, Lets take two groups of competitive boys/young men, get them emotionally wound up to engage in competition with each other and then run them out to the field of competition through the same narrow hallway like gladiators to the coliseum. I wonder what will happen? Sounds like a sociology experiment with predictable results. Predictable to everyone but the event organizers. Doh!

Morningstar
"It's right there in front of you. It's like putting a piece of steak on a plate in front of a dog who's chained up. He's right there, but he's chained up. Hopefully, the next day you can let him loose."

Who cares if a lot of people hate KU? As Reggie Jackson said, 'They don't boo nobodies.' If you want to be the top, you're going to draw fire. You can be the Yankees and be a WS contender year after year and be hated, or be the loveable loser Cubs. Which team would you want to play on, or be a fan of?

Being from Philly the twins know how to feed off of negative energy. Philly native Kobe Bryant loves being the villan. Knowing that the twins come from the town that once booed Santa Claus, I wouldn't be surprised that "FOE" also stands for "---- Off Everyone."

I don't mind swagger to a point.
I don't think this video indicates anything but stupidity on the part of the event organizers. Both teams reacted according to the situation.
I do however think you don't have to be hated to win.
-Cubs Fan Also

You don't tug on Superman's cape,
You don't spit into the wind
You don't pull the mask off that ol' Lone Ranger
And you don't mess around with... the Twins,
or T-Rob,
or Rio,
or.. well, do you get the picture now, Richmond?

Well, with Butler advancing you can count on everybody in the Alamo Dome that were Richmond fans, Florida State fans and anything in between to be pulling for VCU. In other words if you're not a KU fan everyone else will be pulling for a VCU vs Butler matchup.

Hello guys, I am a long time follower of this website, but this is my first post. Ive never gotten around to making an account until now. But I just want to say how awesome of a job the coverage of this tournament has been. Its really phenonemal, and I just wanted to let you guys know. Keep it up and Rock Chalk Jayhawk!

Check out this "Poll" which has 65% of the votes saying VCU beats Kansas. As locker room material goes, post this HCBS in everyone's locker and don't take anything for granted. See the throat and step on it early and often.

Since video clearly shows UR blocking the tunnel/exit for its pre-game huddle/rally and KU walking through; where's the KU misconduct exactly? Self tells his players to hustle to the court and the exit's blocked. So KU should what--stand and watch?? No wonder Self's anger about the media fuss was palpable; but then, Forde's a Fizzou grad. 'nuff said.

I've been harping on our schedule all year, pretty weak IMHO. Games against Richmond and VCU, then maybe Butler? When are we going to start scheduling some real teams?
(I wish internet allowed people to see my sarcasm)

Two ways to look at the "fight". Richmond could have seen we were trying to get through and wrapped up their American Idol routine. Or we could have waited patiently for them to finish, probably would have been the more prudent option.

I always like how folks claim a road to the Final Four is easy when you play teams that have been thumping those that would have made the road tougher. But no denying it. It is easier on paper. Paper, however, means nothing.

Question for Jayhawk fans, pick option A or option B:
A. We are guaranteed the national championship this season, but in return for your soul .. I mean the championship .. KU goes 18-12 next season, finishing 9-9 in the realigned Big 12, and goes to the NIT; or
B. We make it to the Final Four this season, but don't win the title. Next season we go 29-3, win the Big 12 league and tournament, and grab another #1 seed.

It is indeed an easy pick, as you would always pick to win a championship when you can because you never know when you're going to have another good look at it, but your option B scenario most likely would mean that the Twins returned for their senior season. So again I say grab the championship while you can, you never know how that option B would play out (whereas you've already played out the rest of this season in option A). If you extrapolate option B out and say KU advances at least to the Final Four and after that it's uncertain...it becomes less cut and dry. It'd be very tempting to go with that (let's call it option C), and have a bridge between this year and the recruiting class of 2012, with a strong possibility of winning the title next year. Tempting, but again I say let's take option A.

You know, my two bros and I were in New Orleans and the night before the Syracuse game, we said we'd trade Roy for a Naty... Felt like it was the same as your question... knowing now that we could have made that deal and had HCBS and the rest... would have been a good deal!!

Lots of links being shared here.
A fantastic archives of games in their entirety from the NCAA tournament going way back to the 70's (in a few cases) but mostly from the mid 80's to present. Warning some are not pleasant to look at.
http://www.vault.ncaa.com/

Was in yesterday's game sitting behind a bunch of Richmond fans, they were ecited for about 2 minutes and shut the rest. In the second game VCU fans appeared more vocal and organized than FSU's. Hopefully tomorrow they will shut up for the most part.

Bill Self: "They coach each other in practice ... maybe it's because the twins
are so unselfish on the court — but it's more of a collection of we than me."

Looking at the stats you can see it. Good assist stats across the board. Good distribution of scoring. I see other teams with the same two players scoring most of the points, game after game.

Shaka Smart: "It's not like we're in the game thinking about Jay Bilas and
Dick Vitale and what they had to say."

Ignoring the pundits saying VCU doesn't belong in the tournament, VCU just got it done. Even if VCU loses tomorrow (and I hope they do!) I think they've proven they belong here. But I'm sure some of those pundits will be saying they clearly never belonged once they faced "real" competition, ignoring the fact that they all said USC, Georgetown, Purdue and Florida State belonged there more than VCU.